Mina Zarei
)}} |affiliation = Paranatural Activity Consortium |status = Alive |eyecolor = Black |haircolor = Brown |species = Human |class = Spectral |energycolor = Chartreuse |tool = Glasses |spirit = Patchworm |family = Unnamed mother Unnamed father |friends = Richard Spender Agent Day |loveinterests = Agent Day |First Appearance = }} Dr. Mina Zarei is a scientist working for the Paranatural Activity Consortium and the tamer of the Ghost Train. She is a spectral, and her current spirit partner is Patchworm. She often visits Mayview under the attention of her superiors, and is a former associate of Francisco Guerra . Appearance Mina has black pupils, bright orange schlera, and stylized half-lidded eyes. She wears a pair of rimless top glasses possessed by Patchworm, which have dots on either side of their frame resembling the spirit's. In Chapter 4, Zarei wears a striped green hijab over the Consortium's paranormal research division uniform. In Chapter 5, she wears a red hijab, a beige top with bell sleeves and a black waist tie, and a black dress. After leaving the Mayview Mini Mall, she wears a black leather coat. During a flashback, she can be seen wearing a black hoodie with neon accents depicting the logo "BEAST FEVER", sweatpants, and sneakers. Personality For the most part, Dr. Zarei maintains a calm, serious demeanor with a sarcastic, sardonic sense of humor. She does not appreciate those looking down on her, such as reacting to Francisco's assertion that the Ghost Train would be safer in his care rather than her own. She is also known to have a more mischievous side, as seen when she banters with Spender and tries to prank him for coming to her unannounced by setting off the Ghost Train early. She is fairly closed-off and reserved, distrusting the Consortium with knowledge of her experiments and distancing herself from her colleagues because of it. However, she begins to open up to others after meeting Agent Day, who causes her to become easily flustered, smile, and open up about her past. Background Zarei used to be close childhood friends with Richard Spender when they were both thirteen years old, and the two used to visit the local Mayview Mini Mall together. Zarei and Spender both knew Francisco Guerra, who referred to the former as a "little bookworm" . Sometime after a mysterious incident which occurred in Mayview, Zarei moved away and stopped regular contact with Spender, and proceeded to never stay in Mayview for "any significant stretch of time". Zarei used to have a spirit partner who resembled a hand puppet with rabbit ears, who is implied by Hijack to have once been "the loved one could turn to when she's sad" . She is shown alongside the spirit both when as a child and during her adulthood. Sometime in the past, Zarei and Patchworm believed themselves to have "defeated" Vice Principal DuNacht , whom Patchworm refers to as "the witch" . At some point, Zarei tamed the Ghost Train, a wild spirit able to pass the barrier surrounding Mayview, with the help of one of her experiments who helped control it . She used the Ghost Train to drop in and out on occasion, as well as to bring Consortium Agents in and out of the town. As a member of the paranormal research division of the Consortium, Zarei is known for keeping her experiments and results to herself and refusing to share them with her colleagues. Zarei frequently creates man-made spirits who aid her in her medical work, such as Hijack and Hotwire, and keeps some element of this fact hidden from her superiors. She refers to her spirits as "assets" , and immediately makes plans to protect them once Day makes it clear that people investigating her "research". Paranatural Chapter 4 When Spender comes by with the kids to board the Ghost Train, he meets Zarei accompanied by two other agents. Though she was uninformed of their arrival before she finished sweeping out stray spirits, she allows them to board to conduct their own sweeping. She allows the train to leave early as a small prank on Spender for not calling ahead of time, not knowing that two vile spirits were on board. When they come back, she is excitedly greeted by Agent Day, who reveals that she was given much information of Zarei's and Spender's involvement in Mayview, despite their assumption of being under the radar. While talking with Spender, she notices the wound inflicted by Forge on Spender's chest, and then turns her attention on the wounded Ghost Train. The Train goes berserk after she takes off Day's Love Arrow, forcing Consortium agent Agent Savage to subdue it before she could calm it down, trapping them in Mayview. The Train enters its tool, a lantern, and Zarei takes the lantern so it can feed off her energy. Chapter 5 Zarei is later seen still in Mayview, called to Francisco's dojo to mend one of his student's wounds. Isabel attempts to steal some of her medicine to treat a bite wound she sustained the previous night, but ends up taking the wrong medicine and is caught by Zarei, who demands to know what happened to her the previous night after seeing the wound. While explaining that she doesn't want Mr. Spender to get in trouble with her grandfather, Zarei uses her powers to take the torn patch of skin off of Isabel's arm. Unbeknownst to Isabel, Zarei summons Hijack out of a fly, then sends him to follow her and discover what she and Spender are hiding about the events of last night. Later, Zarei is shown stitching up the wound remotely with the help of her spirit partners in her parents' basement. After entering Patchworm's spirit world, she releases and attempts to retake control over the Ghost Train to no avail. While Patchworm affectionately teases her to her embarrassment, she is interrupted by her mother, who scolds her over her untidy room. Her father joins them and asks her to eat with them, to which she declines due to having plans. Afterwards, Zarei heads to the Mayview Mini Mall to meet with Agent Day at Lakeside Lunch. After Zarei expresses astonishment at her having walked across town to reach the mall, Day reveals that her true intention in coming to Mayview was to uncover its many mysteries, including the secrets hidden by Mr. Spender and Zarei herself. Zarei ducks into Patchworm's spirit world and makes plans with her to move their "assets", not knowing that Agent Day had entered her own spirit world and could listen in on them. After exiting, Zarei spots a fly whom she believes to be Hijack and attempts to save from their waitress, Penny, before it flies into a glass of water. As their conversation goes on, Zarei begins to allow herself to open up to Day about her past and engage in small talk. ] Later on, a Hijack-possessed Mr. Spender texts Zarei and reveals what he's done along with Spender's chest injury, causing Zarei to hastily leave. After calling out Agent Savage and Griggs for stalking them, Day solicits them for a ride to follow Zarei. Upon arriving at the school on her motorbike, Zarei checks in at the front desk before spotting Vice Principal DuNacht, who strikes fear into both her and Patchworm due to believing they had "defeated" her. After being unable to find Hijack after several sweeps of the school, Zarei decides to return home before being spotted by Mr. Garcia from the bushes, who gives her an awkward wave before they part ways. Chapter 6 As Stephen searches the mini-mall for a lost dog's owner with a shopkeeper's pair of dowsing rods, he briefly passes underneath Day and Zarei's table during their lunch, causing them both to look on in confusion. When her date is over and she returns to her house, she realizes that the Ghost Train's tool is missing and asks where it could have been left. Relationships Family * Unnamed parents - After leaving Mayview and only returning for short, occasional visits, Zarei presumably left her parents behind, who still live in the town and let her stay at their home after she becomes trapped in the barrier. Her parents appear to be unaware of her status as a spectral, as she expresses concern over the thought of her mother seeing her during a state of heightened perception. Friends * Richard Spender - Zarei has known Spender since their time at Francisco's dojo and is the only person who calls him Richard. She seems to enjoy messing with him, like taunting his position in the Consortium. Though they are close enough that Spender freely talks with her about his activities and Boss Leader's involvement, he chooses not to collaborate with her due to a past event. She also appears insulted when he seemingly stops discussing the subject out of caution. * Agent Day - Though initially taken aback by her overt fangirl-like attitude, Zarei begins to fall for Day during their lunch together, frequently blushing at Day's flirting and teasing. She starts letting herself open up about her past and engage in small talk with her, which Patchworm describes as making "cracks" in the "13 years of armor around her heart". Day's spirit, Venus Guytrap, describes the doctor as one whose "heart doth falter with but the slightest teasing. Nary a Love Arrow required!" Enemies * Vice Principal DuNacht - Zarei expresses extreme terror upon seeing DuNacht at the school. She shares her concern to Patchworm as the Vice Principal walks away, saying that "they defeated her" and that her return was impossible, and is visibly shaken when dismissing Patchworm's pleas to leave the area . Associates * Francisco Guerra - Zarei does not have much patience for her former mentor, whom she views as arrogant. When Francisco doubted her ability to help the Ghost Train recover over one of his student's, she seemed angry and eager to prove him wrong. * Boss Leader - Mina appears to hold a level of contempt towards Boss Leader, scoffing at the idea of Agent Day being trusted by her and distrusting her with knowing "what she's achieved" and "what hopes to achieve" . Spirits * Patchworm - Patchworm is Zarei's primary spirit who has presumably known Zarei for many years and adored her for her kindness. She questions Zarei's methods in trying to keep tabs on Spender, suggesting she simply talk to him as a friend. * Hijack - According to him, Hijack was created by Zarei three years prior to the events of the comic. Hijack considers Zarei his "mom", though Zarei dislikes it when Hijack calls her this, as it makes her feel old. Zarei trusts Hijack with the task to discover what Spender was hiding from her, leading to him possessing multiple people throughout Mayview Middle School to get to him. She appears to show genuine concern over his well-being, becoming gravely serious after realizing that he may have been killed. * Ghost Train - Zarei is the "master" of the spirit, being the only person who can properly control it. While her spectral energy is not close enough to the Train's to properly use it as a tool, she is still able to slowly heal it. Abilities Spectral Like all spectrals, Zarei has the power of ghost sight and interaction, meaning she can physically interact with those of the spiritual world where others cannot. As a former student of Francisco, she has proficient control over her spectral energy allowing her to shape it in various forms, such as creating a lasso to pluck objects from a distance as well as use spectral energy thread to use as stitches. Zarei is also a skilled medical professional and carries assorted medicines with her. Tools Zarei's tool is a pair of glasses inhabited by a spirit named Patchworm, which allow her to transfer wounds through the palm of her hand and leaving behind a layer of skin. She mainly uses this technique to operate on wounds and injuries remotely and away from the patient's body. Though she cannot use it, she also carries a lantern tool mainly used to house the Ghost Train when it is injured. Because the train's color is teal, she cannot use the train's power as a tool for herself. In addition to the Ghost Train, she has a number of other spirits under her control, including ones called Toolbox and Hotwire, but it is unknown if they are held within tools or a different method. Quotes )}} )}} )}} )}} )}} )}} Trivia * Hijack mentions having an affinity for Wii Sports twice, and offers to have Max come over to "his house" to play it with him. As Hijack lives with Zarei as one of her experiments, this indicates that Wii Sports is owned by either Zarei or her parents, whom she was staying in Mayview with at the time. Gallery Official Artwork Tumblr_-_Zarei_01.jpg|Zarei and the Ghost Train. (Tumblr post) FillerPages_2016Oct31.png|"Happy Halloween!" (Oct 31 2016) Tweets_-_Halloween_01_Zarei.png|Zarei dressed as Frankenstein's monster. (Tweet) Tweets_-_Zarei_01.png|"just now realized i can draw and tweet anything" (Tweet) Tweets_-_Zarei_Patchworm_01.jpg|"what season is it again" (Tweet) FillerPages 2018Sept25.png|"Guest Art #1 by Ruby" (Sept 25 2018) Spirit Art- Patchworm Sits on Zarei's Head.png|Patchworm resting on Zarei's head while Hijack clings. ("Spirit Art", Jan 30 2018) Tweets - HijackCommercial 03.jpg|Zarei with Hijack on her head. (Twitter sketch- "fun loving") Zarei and Day Patreon Announcement.png|Mina and Agent Day show off the announcement of Zack's Patreon. ( ) Comic ) Zarei Ch4Pg71 02.png|Zarei during her first appearance. ( ) Zarei Ch4Pg145.png|Zarei speaking with Spender about Agent Day. ( ) Zarei Ch5P4.png|Zarei preparing to aid one of Francisco's injured disciples. ( ) Zarei Ch5P8 01.png|Zarei after replacing the bite on Isabel's arm. ( ) Zarei Ch5P8 02.png|Zarei watching Isabel leave the dojo. ( ) Zarei Ch5P108.png|Zarei preparing to operate on Isabel's bite. ( ) Zarei Ch5P109.png|Zarei walking within Patchworm's spirit world. ( ) Zarei Ch5P112.png|Zarei attempting to control the Ghost Train's lantern. ( ) Zarei Ch5P112 02.png|Zarei upon releasing the Ghost Train. ( ) Zarei Ch5P114.png|Zarei blushing in response to Patchworm's affection. ( ) Zarei_Ch5P144.png|Zarei conversing with Agent Day. ( ) Zarei_Ch5P147.png|Zarei panicking over Day's flirting. ( ) Zarei_Ch5P153.png|Zarei smiling towards Day. ( ) Zarei_Ch5P226.png|Zarei riding on her motorbike towards the school. ( ) Zarei Ch5P274.png|Zarei searching for Hijack at the school. ( ) Zarei Ch5Pg274.png|Zarei spotting Vice Principal DuNacht. ( ) Zarei Ch5P285.png|Zarei in her casualwear. ( ) }} References Category:Consortium Agents Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Humans Category:Spectrals Category:Alive Category:Dojo Affiliates